National market update

WASHINGTON (December 19, 2013) – Existing-home sales fell in November, although median prices continue to show strong year-over-year growth, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Read more

Housing Equity 2013

With the end of 2013 closing in, it is time to take stock of the impact from the strong 2013 housing market. Home price growth was robust in 2013 compared to 2012 and is currently forecast by NAR Research to finish the year 11.3% stronger.Read more

National housing indicators

Existing home sales ()

4.90*

Existing home median price ()

$196,300

Housing Starts ()

1091000*

New home sales ()

National economic indicators

Home ownership

3rd Qtr 2012

65.5%

3rd Qtr 2013

65.3%

The homeownership rate in the third quarter 2013 was 65.3 percent, down 0.2 (+/- 0.4)* percentage points from the third quarter 2012 rate of 65.5 percent. The homeownership rates in the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West were not statistically different from the rates a year ago.

New home sales

September 2013

-6.6%

October 2013

+25.4%

Sales of new single-family houses in October 2013 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000. This is 25.4 percent (+/- 19.2%) above the September 2013 estimate of 354,000.

Source: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

How much is your home worth? Get a real-time report on the value of your home.Start now

Regional market updates

View market statistics for your region.

Click on the links below to view data from two different industry sources. Choose information on local prices & state sales from any of 178 metropolitan housing markets prepared by the National Association of REALTORS® or information on sales & price activity from local area markets in 25 states prepared by Clarus MarketMetrics.

Local Sales & Price Activity

Cheryl Jones

Home Ownership matters…to people, to communities, and to America. Why? • For every two homes sold, one job is created in the U.S. • Each purchase generates as much as $60,000 in economic activity over time. Read more

Buying is now cheaper than renting in 74 percent of the nation’s largest cities. Low home prices and “rock-bottom” interest rates as well as tax advantages of homeownership are the reasons why it’s now cheaper to BUY a 2-bdrm home than to rent one. Check out this CNN Money article with the details. Read more

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, statements and/or ideas expressed in this Message Section do not reflect the ideas, policy, position, views or opinion of Move,Inc.

Consumer tips & hot properties

Boost Your Credit Score to Buy a Home

Promises of loans for bad credit borrowers, while common amid the housing boom in the early 2000s, are now rare. If you’re interested in buying a home today, know that lenders will carefully check your credit and will rarely approve a loan for someone with seriously bad credit.

Odd Moving Tips That Really Work

You’ve got the basics — cardboard boxes, newspaper, the phone number of a pizza place so you can feed the friends helping you move all your worldly goods. But do you have enough socks for the stemware?

How Much Mortgage Can I Afford?

When you buy a home, the amount you can spend depends on how much you have in cash to use for a down payment and how much you can borrow. A mortgage lender can prequalify you for a loan, which essentially means the lender will ask you a few questions about your income, credit profile and debt, and give you an estimate of what you can borrow based on those facts.
Read more

Experts Predict 2014 Housing Market

The U.S. real estate market made a robust comeback in 2013, surpassing expectations of many economists, as the combination of low inventories and historically low interest rates caused home prices to rise and even helped fuel bidding wars in some markets, surpassing the expectations of many economists. While positive trends, such as increasing home values, are expected to continue into 2014, mortgage rates are also expected to rise in the coming year and could put a damper on home buyers’ abilities to afford new homes.Read more

2014 Remodeling Trends

Home remodeling may have taken a backseat during the recession, but not anymore. According to a 2013 Hanley Wood survey, remodeling sales were up 10 percent compared to 2012, and 45 percent of remodelers surveyed expected another 10 percent growth in 2014.
Read more

Housing Trends eNewsletter is filled with U.S. Census Bureau key market indicators, consumer videos, blogs, a real estate glossary, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, real estate radio, realtor.com® local community reports and local and national real estate sales and price activity provided by local MLSs and the National Association of REALTORS®.

Subscribe to the free Housing Trends eNewsletter to receive it each month. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Information contained in this eNewsletter is compiled from a variety of sources. The accuracy and authenticity has not been verified by Move, Inc., is subject to change, is provided "as is" and is not guaranteed. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Move, Inc. Move, Inc. makes no representations or warranties of any nature with regard to the privacy and/or business practices of the websites linked from or to this eNewsletter nor the accuracy and authenticity of any information contained in such websites, and is not responsible for any content contained in any linked site or for any action or lack of action by any linked site whatsoever, including their use of any information they may collect.